The present invention relates to an intermediate electrical connector for connecting two electrical connectors.
Patent Reference has disclosed a conventional intermediate electrical connector. According to Patent Reference, two electrical connectors as mating connectors are connected to each other through the conventional intermediate electrical connector from an upper direction (an upper connector) and a lower direction (a lower connector).    Patent Reference: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-216694
The conventional intermediate electrical connector includes a holding object. The holding object includes two secondary members situated at an upper side and a lower side thereof. The conventional intermediate electrical connector further includes a plurality of intermediate boards (blades) held by the two secondary members and a connecting member for connecting the two secondary members. The secondary member situated at the upper side may be referred to as “an upper secondary member”, and the secondary member situated at the lower side may be referred to as “a lower secondary member”.
The intermediate board includes a connecting portion for connecting to a plurality of terminals of an upper connector and a lower connector. The connecting portions are disposed at both of an upper edge and a lower edge of the intermediate board, respectively. The secondary member includes a plurality of retaining grooves penetrating therethrough in a lower to upper direction for retaining the intermediate board. The connecting member includes an upper engaging portion and a lower engaging portion having a hook shape, respectively. The secondary member further includes an arm portion for engaging the engaging portion in the lower to upper direction. The arm portion is provided on both of sidewall portions of the secondary member.
The intermediate electrical connector is assembled in a way described as follows. First, the lower engaging portion of the connecting member is engaged the arm portion of the lower secondary member in the upper to lower direction in order to attach the connecting member to both of the sidewall portions of the lower secondary member. Next, all of the intermediate boards are retained into the retaining grooves of the lower secondary member. Further, the upper engaging portion of the connecting member is engaged the arm portion of the upper secondary member in order to connect the upper secondary member to the lower secondary member through the connecting member. Thus the intermediate electrical connector is assembled.
In the conventional intermediate electrical connector disclosed in Patent Reference, when the intermediate electrical connector is assembled to be used, the plurality of the intermediate boards (blades) are retained in the retaining grooves of the lower secondary member one by one. As a result, it is necessary to repeat an operation of retaining the intermediate boards as many times as a number of the intermediate boards. Accordingly, a number of repeating the operation of retaining the intermediate board increases as the number of the intermediate boards increases. As a result, it takes longer time to retain the intermediate boards.
As described above, in the conventional intermediate electrical connector disclosed in Patent Reference, it requires a long period of time for assembling since the operation of retaining the intermediate board is performed as one of operations of assembling the intermediate electrical connector to be used.
In view of the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an intermediate electrical connector capable of reducing the number of the operations of assembling in order to shorten an amount of time for assembling the intermediate electrical connector.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.